Japanese construction company Taisei Corporation has developed a form of building demolition that’s far more quiet, healthy and environmentally-friendly than traditional methods. And it doesn’t even involve wrecking balls or explosives.
The process is called “Ecological Reproduction System” and we learn about it from Good.Is:
Using a crane, material from the interior of the building is removed. That includes beams, concrete, paneling, etc. In this way the process is kind of like a reverse assembly line, taking apart the structure bit by bit.
Basically, the building disappears floor-by-floor. And as the material is taken out, the company makes sure that anything reusable is recycled and repurposed. As Good.Is goes on to explain, even the energy generated by lowering the materials to ground level is used to offset overall CO2 emissions:
The movement of the crane generates energy, which can then be harnessed to power lights and other equipment. The other added benefit is that because the demolition is being done in an enclosed area, weather doesn’t become a factor, allowing for a more rapid disassembly time and dust is contained.
The green demolition process was recently used to take down Tokyo’s landmark Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, which, at 463 feet, was the seventh tallest building in the world ever to be demolished. Watch the mesmerizing deconstruction timelapse in its entirety below.
